In writing my book
on Islamophobia and the War on Terror, I spoke to dozens of Muslims,
from Michigan to Texas and Minnesota to Virginia. Some told me about
becoming aware their mosque was under surveillance only after
discovering an FBI informant had joined the congregation. Others spoke
about federal agents turning up at colleges to question every student
who happened to be Muslim. All of them said they felt unsure whether
their telephone calls to relatives abroad were wiretapped or whether
their emails were being read by government officials.

These
are the types of people whom the National Security Agency can suspect
of being two “hops” away from targets. These are the types of “bad guys”
referred to by outgoing NSA director Keith Alexander.Ten years ago, around 100,000 Arabs and Muslims in America had some
sort of national security file compiled on them. Today, that number is
likely to be even higher.

A study
published last year by the Muslim American Civil Liberties Coalition
documented the effects of this kind of mass surveillance. In targeted
communities, a culture of enforced self-censorship takes hold and
relationships of trust start to break down. As one interviewee said:
“You look at your closest friends and ask: are they informants?”

Underpinning all
the surveillance of Muslim Americans is an assumption that Islamic
ideology is linked to terrorism. Yet, over the last 20 years, far more
people have been killed in acts of violence by right-wing extremists
than by Muslim American citizens or permanent residents. The huge
numbers being spied upon are not would-be terrorists but law-abiding
people, some of whom have “radical” political opinions that still ought
to be protected by the First Amendment to the constitution. Just the
same, there are plenty of other minority Americans who are not would-be
“home-grown” terrorists – but they still live in fear that they might be
mistaken as one.

So let’s reform the NSA and its countless collections. But let’s not forget the FBI’s reported 10,000 intelligence analysts working on counter-terrorism and the 15,000 paid informants helping them do it. Let’s not forget the New York Police Department’s intelligence and counter-terrorism division with its 1,000 officers, $100m budget and vast program of surveillance.

Let’s not forget the especially subtle psychological terror of being
Muslim in America, where, sure, maybe your phone calls won’t be stored
for much longer, but there’s a multitude of other ways you’re always
being watched.….
regards